[suspect]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

the clutch was original and 100k km, city driven. So adding a tune was too much.

I ve a twin disk now, good up to 740lb.

TT give you low end torque, so yes 500hp is ''conservative'' if all the torque is not drop down at low rpm from a stop. A tuner can adjust boost per RPM.

for the tune I do a mix. I log a lot, look at all parameter avoiding blowing up the engine, when I feel the car is where I want, I check the power on virtualdyno, and then send everything to a tuner that will edit the .bin fine on tunerpro.

I've started to studying and understand tunerpro for a N54, but I dont have enough experience to mess with this.

Increasing power is a good balance between boost pressure and timing.
I'm running 23psi with 8° timing for around 430whp on map 6.

Map 8 I did not finishing it yet, but I'm at 27psi with 7.5° timing + meth. I must be over 500whp for sure, somewhere 600+to the crank.

I have been trying to learn how to tune N54 too. There’s stuff out there like some YouTube tutorials and v8baits excel sheet but it’s difficult to get started.

How long does it take to make a tune good enough to drive the car normally?

Could I ask how many miles you have on your engine and is yours a manual or auto? Those are good numbers.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by suspect

I have been trying to learn how to tune N54 too. There’s stuff out there like some YouTube tutorials and v8baits excel sheet but it’s difficult to get started.

How long does it take to make a tune good enough to drive the car normally?

Could I ask how many miles you have on your engine and is yours a manual or auto? Those are good numbers.

75k miles and manual.

Jb4+MHD you dont need to have a sorted out tune to enjoy the car. Out of the box it's fine for many different setup , check all the base maps here : https://www.jb4tech.com/forum/model-...end-flash-maps

Then once you've flashed the MHD base map, you can switch maps on the JB4 or do a custom one. However the JB4 has a limit, which is where I am now.

I need someone to edit the .bin file and reflash with MHD to go higher with the JB4

[konstat]

I’ve been running MHD Stage 2+, 91 octane with E30 and have been happy with that. I might have junk 93 gas in my area or the tune is aggressive and so the E30 is needed to clear up my timing corrections. I ran a 12.16s quarter mile at 113mph so I’m likely around 400 whp. I have plans on upgrading to 17ts at some point to get me to 500whp. Brand called ViV auto parts, China turbos but most reputable ones from what I’ve seen.

If you want to tune yourself with MHD you can use TunerPro which is an open source tuning software (free). If you want a custom tune you could reach out to Ken at Wedge Performance. He can perform an e-tune since you’re over in Italy (OP).

[vmqxdv]

Originally Posted by konstat

I’ve been running MHD Stage 2+, 91 octane with E30 and have been happy with that. I might have junk 93 gas in my area or the tune is aggressive and so the E30 is needed to clear up my timing corrections. I ran a 12.16s quarter mile at 113mph so I’m likely around 400 whp. I have plans on upgrading to 17ts at some point to get me to 500whp. Brand called ViV auto parts, China turbos but most reputable ones from what I’ve seen.

If you want to tune yourself with MHD you can use TunerPro which is an open source tuning software (free). If you want a custom tune you could reach out to Ken at Wedge Performance. He can perform an e-tune since you’re over in Italy (OP).

I’ll probably run a MHD tune and then get a custom custom dyno tune, the nearest dyno tuner is 2 and half hours from where I’m (there are only 2 in this region), that’s because I’ve read/seen that tunes made on the street ain’t that much precise, and being completely honest I would be scared to lunch my car while a guy is tuning it

[konstat]

I don’t blame you, you’re not wrong for worrying about that. If you choose a tuner that has tuned many N54s especially with 17ts the risk is much lower since they’ll be starting you off with a known map that works. You also don’t need to rip it when you load their map. I would actually start with half throttle pulls and work your way to full throttle while reviewing the logs of each pull to ensure things look healthy.

From my understanding Ken literally only tunes N54s. There are also other tuners out there with N54 experience but I have only worked with Ken and my experience has been good.

[vmqxdv]

Originally Posted by konstat

I don’t blame you, you’re not wrong for worrying about that. If you choose a tuner that has tuned many N54s especially with 17ts the risk is much lower since they’ll be starting you off with a known map that works. You also don’t need to rip it when you load their map. I would actually start with half throttle pulls and work your way to full throttle while reviewing the logs of each pull to ensure things look healthy.

From my understanding Ken literally only tunes N54s. There are also other tuners out there with N54 experience but I have only worked with Ken and my experience has been good.

I’ll take in consideration this! If he is an experienced guy he will probably do a great job

[vmqxdv]

I've found this video, where the guy breakdown what is needed for a 335i to be reliable. Is he right about everything?

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by vmqxdv

I've found this video, where the guy breakdown what is needed for a 335i to be reliable. Is he right about everything?

incomplete. Ill add this to have a ''somewhat reliable'' n54

- the whole cooling system : water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, flanges, pipes, expansion tank.

- acc belt guard

- power steering pulley if you're RWD.

- metal pcv

- catch can

- hpfp


Most item can be found cheap, but the injectors and hpfp. i.e. charge pipe, cc, belt giard and PCV are just fine from aliexpress.


However, you can wait for the injector to fail to change it. I know some folks still running index 1 and index 5 for years. They will fail, but mileage may varies.

[vmqxdv]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

incomplete. Ill add this to have a ''somewhat reliable'' n54

- the whole cooling system : water pump, thermostat, radiator, hoses, flanges, pipes, expansion tank.

- acc belt guard

- power steering pulley if you're RWD.

- metal pcv

- catch can

- hpfp


Most item can be found cheap, but the injectors and hpfp. i.e. charge pipe, cc, belt giard and PCV are just fine from aliexpress.


However, you can wait for the injector to fail to change it. I know some folks still running index 1 and index 5 for years. They will fail, but mileage may varies.

Aliexpress? Are they acctually safe to run?

For the injectors im currently looking for 335i’s that already have index 12 and other parts replaced like the water pump, gaskets etc.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by vmqxdv

Aliexpress? Are they acctually safe to run?

For the injectors im currently looking for 335i’s that already have index 12 and other parts replaced like the water pump, gaskets etc.

ali express catch can are the exact same as the expensive one for well known brand.

belt guard is a metal plate. and it worked in my case, saved my engine.

charge pipe, is a metal pipe.

pcv is a metal part with a rubber oring.

So the risk is low to none.


However, everything else : FCP or rockauto. (or oc your local german part reseller)
DO NOT buy injectors on ebay/FB market /ali. Knock off exists.

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by fastboatster

I'm actually looking for other better dp brands myself.

VRSF are absolutely fine and have been for years. Some of the very early ones had fitment issues but they've been spot on for ages now and s the most common go-to brand for DPs.

ARM kind of filled the niche that VRSF used to have, they're a bit cheaper and most on a budget run those now.

AR are the absolute best and can be found used on here all the time.

[vmqxdv]

I've found this supplier on Alibaba that seems "verified", and it has different turbos for the n54 (link) but I can't find the differences between one and another.

Thank you in advance!!

[oVeRdOsE.]

Even if some people reported that cheap tt turbo are good, i wont try it simply because the job is very frustrating. Do it once !

I.e. on a 2.0t audi or on a single top mount setup is less risky since its easy to swap.

[vmqxdv]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

Even if some people reported that cheap tt turbo are good, i wont try it simply because the job is very frustrating. Do it once !

I.e. on a 2.0t audi or on a single top mount setup is less risky since its easy to swap.

From what I understood the VIV turbos are considered the best on eBay, do you recommend those?

[konstat]

Originally Posted by vmqxdv

From what I understood the VIV turbos are considered the best on eBay, do you recommend those?

I've heard good things about them and plan to run their 17T version myself when my stockers take a dump. I feel like I've read somewhere on forums that people have above 30k miles on their VIVs without issue. Conservatively, I wouldn't expect them to last above 50k miles but I could be wrong.

A common theme with them though is that the wastegate actuator is too tight and needs to be adjusted (loosened). You'd want to at least compare to your stock turbos and try to mimic how that actuator moves. If you slap them on without adjusting the wastegate actuator you'll run into overboost or underboost issues as the wastegate actuator isn't able actuate with the vacuum provided by the car's vacuum pump.

[vmqxdv]

Originally Posted by konstat

I've heard good things about them and plan to run their 17T version myself when my stockers take a dump. I feel like I've read somewhere on forums that people have above 30k miles on their VIVs without issue. Conservatively, I wouldn't expect them to last above 50k miles but I could be wrong.

A common theme with them though is that the wastegate actuator is too tight and needs to be adjusted (loosened). You'd want to at least compare to your stock turbos and try to mimic how that actuator moves. If you slap them on without adjusting the wastegate actuator you'll run into overboost issues as the wastegate actuator isn't able actuate with the vacuum provided by the car's vacuum pump.

Thats a really important thing to know!! Thanks man!